As of the article in Record Courier on Nov 14, 2009 it is clear that the School Board and the Administration is entirely inept and incompetant to run our school district.

Neither the teaching staff or the support staff have anything to do with this. On the contrary, the teaching staff is proposing to forego their raises in order to help the district. Although this is highly commendable on the part of the staff, it is something they really should not have to do.

Mr. Puster delivered a 5 year forcast in October of 2008, and with a CPA on the school board they approved that 5 year forcast. This forcast accounted for the salaries of the staff. However it did not include the salaries and benefits of those hired after that time when the district funds were under control of the interim treasurer.

As it is, we have a 12 year veteran on the school board that has given questionable advice to other board members and has influenced by her tenure contracts that should not have been put into place. In those contracts the district has awareded salaries and benefits that go beyond the standard norm. One of those items is to pay the Administrations share of their Employee share to their retirement fund. This comes to a total of $83,000 a year.

We also have a contract for a Marketing firm that will cost the district $30,000 a year just for their retainer. If they produce anything for the district, there is an additional cost which could then cost the district anywhere from $40,000 to $50,000 a year. The marketing should be done by students of our district for what better way to understand the district than by using the students that already attend school here. With an award winning Newspaper such as the Orbiter, I think the students in the journalism class could pull this off without a hitch. Unlike our Board and Administration, I have faith and trust in our students to be able to do this and that would save the district a huge amount of money. No, our Board and Administration just want to spend the money in areas where it doesn't help anyone.

They signed a contract to bring in outside Psychiatrist to evaluate the children in the district when we have three of our own who shouold be certified to do the same thing.

Spending funds like this doesn't make any sense no matter how you look at it.

Why is it the Administration won't make concessions to help the district they work in. The only answer I can assume at this point is greed. They may claim they care for the students but their persistance in their declination to concessions is vulgar at the least.

We needed change in this district and we needed it bad. We had the chance at the last poll but voters brought back two who have harmed the district in the worst way.

They terminiated busing.

The option to eliminate busing was permitted and approved at a time when Streetsboro had around 5600 residents. Today, that number has blossomed to 15,000 and the traffic from that time frame has increased exponetially. We have 50 times the traffic now as we did when that option to terminate busing was put in place.

The one thing you haven't seen is sidewalks and widening of the road to make the termination of busing a tool for the district to use.

This current BOE and Administration has just placed the children of our community in peril. They weren't smart enough or cognitive enough to realize this busing option is obsolete in it's design. Everyone else out there realizes it but our current BOE and Administrtion doesn't.

We have grown in the number of students over the years and now we will be experiencing buses and vehichles trying to deliver children to their school day.

No matter how much the stress it (the BOE and Administration), they really aren't for the children of the district. They are merely trying to save face from the mismanagement of funds we experienced after Mr. Puster left. They want a bail out of their mistakes.

The only time I will now even consider approving a levy will be when we replace the entire Administration in the district, and evey last BOE member resign from their post or is replaced.

We need people in place who know how to manage the funds, we need people in place who know how to use all the people in the district to help educate and we need people who know how to communicate with the teaching staff, the support staff and the community.

I encourage and plead with all residents, tax payers, parents and grandparents to attend the next board meeting and request the BOE return busing to the students and demand the Administration pay their own share to the retirement fund. We should also request and demand the Administration take no less than a 10% cut in their wages and forego their raises for at least the next three years.

The funding is there to provide for our students and we should not let the BOE and Administration dupe us into thinking it is not there.

We need to band together as a community, teaching staff and support staff to rid our district of these incompetant and inept people who have been given the authority to decide what is best for our district.

Remember, these people were representatives who are to decide for the community based upon the wishes of the community. They are not our rulers, they are not the leaders of the community, they are only representatives and should be treated as such. They are OUR employees that are not our boss. Work as a community and let them know your wishes. If they cannot comply with our desires then they should be removed or resign from their position.

I for one am tired of their mismanagement and incompentance. I will fight against their levy no matter how many times they bring it forth. I support the needs of the support staff, the teachers and the students. I will no longer support the Administration or BOE in any future endeavors when it takes away from the needs of the students.

I hope many will join me in this mission to improve the education and the delivery of it to our children.

My main focus is what we can do for the children and help them achieve to greater levels. The current Adminstration and BOE are showing us how they can and have detracted from that.

The thought is smaller classes have shown success in teaching. However, those studies are based on the old way of teaching that was adopted over 50 years ago.

With the digital age we are in now, I think and believe the opposite would be favorable and show that a larger class won't be a factor.

We need to change people, and we need to do it fast.

Do not let the cuts they have made become the norm. Do not let their strongarm tactics that endanger our children become a reality. Let's all fight for the safety and welfare of the children of our community. The time has come for us to take back control of our district.

On another note, it has been rumored, which I am trying find out if it is fact by contacting the Superintendent herself, which I did Friday, November 13, 2009, to see if either one of the items are true.

There is rumor that the person who took over as the Director of Teaching and Learning, dismissed classes early so that she could take private Ballroom dancing lessons while on school time.

The second is that the Superintendent has denied the staff their traditional Caroling at the school this holiday season.

If an Administrato or this district did take lessons in Ballroom dancing, then she should be immediately terminated from the district. No ifs, ands or buts.

If it is true that the Superintendent has denied the teachers a tradition of our district which was to bring to the community and teaching staff closer together, then her decision should be overruled by the BOE and it should be noted in the Superintendents permanent file. It is time we put a stop to the elimination of American Traditions. We have just as much right as those minortities they feel we are offending. Those minorities do not have to attend these traditions just as we don't have to attend their. But it is our majority who want to do the caroling for the betterment of the school district and the community.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and I hope it will bring forth a sense of pride and commitment form the entire community and school district.

Martin Fleming